Newsletter

Making the right moves

The former Benedictine standout quarterback was the first Savannah player to sign a letter of intent to play for first-year Savannah State University coach Robby Wells.

During preseason practices, the 6-foot-4, 181-pound freshman solidified his spot on the depth chart as the No. 2 quarterback.

He was close to a storybook ending, a play or two away from starting.

DeFilippis' fairytale turned sour when he was declared ineligible for SSU's first three game by the National Collegiate Athletic Association Eligibility Center.

The Center, which clears all NCAA athletes academically, ruled that a math course DeFilippis took in high school did not qualify.

Instead of playing, DeFilippis was relegated to watching.

While he watched, SSU coaches benched starter JaCorey Kilcrease before the start of the fourth quarter in the Tigers' season opener. Wells said he would have replaced him with DeFilippis had he been eligible.

Instead, DeFilippis sat.

Three games later, DeFilippis regained his eligibility when Benedictine convinced the NCAA that Algebra II Concepts was taught at the accepted level.

By then, third-string quarterback Kurvin Curry, a freshman from Hartwell, had replaced Kilcrease and performed well. Curry has been SSU's starting quarterback ever since.

The ordeal left DeFilippis frustrated. At the time, he considered quitting football.

"It really gets to you because you go through all of the conditioning and practices with everyone else on the team except you don't get to play," he said. "You don't even get to dress (for the games). It gets to you after awhile. You put all that hard work in, but you don't get a reward."

DeFilippis thinks about his lost opportunity to play in that fourth quarter.

"It crosses my mind sometimes, what would have happened," he said. "But it's one of those situations that you can't do anything about. Really, I'm just happy to be back on the team. You have to have a passion for (football). If you don't have that passion, it could easily reach that point (of quitting)."

Consider this a fairy tale turned into a cautionary tale.

DeFilippis did nothing wrong. Nor did his high school, SSU or the NCAA Eligibility Center.

It was a not-so-simple misunderstanding.

But DeFilippis lost three games, three opportunities, before the problem was resolved.

The lesson is simple for every high school athlete with a desire to play college sports: Be aware of and involved with the NCAA Eligibility Center. The sooner the better.

After being reinstated, DeFilippis earned the starting job as SSU's long snapper.

"It feels so good (to be playing)," he said. "I can go to bed at night and not have to worry about whether I'm going to be able to play this week or next week. Am I going to be cleared? Am I going to be redshirted? It's amazing. I get to practice, and I get to play on Saturdays."

Start the process early

The best way to avoid problems, experts say, is to begin preparing early in the classroom as well as on the playing field and to stay in contact with the NCAA.

"I tell parents that if they think their children are going to play college athletics, start on it as early as middle school," said Claudia Batichon, Georgia Southern assistant compliance director. "That summer before your child starts ninth grade, make sure they're enrolled in the right classes. If they're not taking the right classes as a freshman then it gets harder to fix the problem as you go through high school.

"For example, if you take P.E., that's not going to be accepted by the clearinghouse even if you make an 'A.' You've got to take the right classes."

The good news is that "well over 95 percent (of students) sail right through the process," said Chuck Wynne, an NCAA spokesman.

The NCAA Eligibility Center determines whether prospective college athletes are eligible to play sports at NCAA Division I or Division II schools.

Called the "NCAA Clearinghouse" for about 20 years, the organization is now called the NCAA Eligibility Center. But its function remains the same - determining who took and passed a group of academic courses (called core courses) that prepare them for college.

"There are 160,000 kids each year that want to be certified," Wynne said. "Only 65,000 go on to compete in Division I or Division II."

To gain certification, an athlete must meet several criteria, including taking and passing core courses, maintaining good grades, and scoring high enough on standardized college entrance tests.

"How kids do on core courses is the best indicator of how they'll do in college," Wynne said.

Core courses

The steps of responsibility are many.

The high school submits lists of the courses they offer that meet the NCAA's criteria, and, once those are approved, the NCAA Eligibility Center adds them to its database.

Parents need to check the database to see if their child is enrolled in courses that will count toward NCAA eligibility.

High school guidance counselors must provide the NCAA with a list of the school's core courses and update the list annually.

"All guidance counselors have access to the NCAA's Web site," said Stacey Mell, a guidance counselor at Calvary Day School. "If there are changes in course titles, it's up to the guidance counselor to make sure the NCAA is aware of that. You must make sure those courses are added to the NCAA's approved list. That's how we do it at Calvary Day. I'm responsible for that."

But at its core, the responsibility falls primarily on parents.

"A lot of parents need to get educated on the NCAA Clearinghouse," GSU's Batichon said. "A lot of parents think it's the high school guidance counselor's job or the coach's job or the athletic director's job to make sure their child is eligible to play sports in college. It's not. It's the parents' job."

The NCAA recommends that high school athletes register online (www.ncaaclearinghouse.net) with the NCAA Clearinghouse at the beginning of their junior year.

They should also update their information regularly until they request a final certification.

"The students are responsible for their online application with the NCAA Clearinghouse," Calvary Day's Mell said. "Then they will bring us a printout requesting a transcript be sent to the NCAA, and we do that. At the end of the year, the NCAA will send a list of all of the students who have applied for clearance, and then we'll send their final transcripts."

Necessary step

Despite the complication and demands, the NCAA Eligibility Center is considered a good thing by many people.

"I think the clearinghouse is a really good thing," Benedictine athletic director Mark Stroud said. "You're going to have people who have problems and people who don't. I think we've all learned how to better approach the clearinghouse and deal with it thanks to all of this."

Said SSU athletic director Bart Bellairs, "It's a complicated process. It's trying to be fair, but it just doesn't seem like it's being fair when kids are sitting out. I think the goal of the NCAA Clearinghouse is to have an equal playing field for everybody so that we don't exploit kids, and we give them a fighting chance to get through college and they're not just playing sports and then they're done."

When an athlete is ineligible, it often is difficult for them - and their parents - to accept.

"Some parents, when their child is not eligible, say the system is cruel," GSU's Batichon said. "It's not cruel. You want the kids to be able to pass English and math and science."

DeFilippis hopes his ordeal will help high school students avoid similar frustration.

"The main thing I would tell upcoming ninth-graders would be to get ahead early with your grades," he said. "Don't let anything slip. Make sure you stay ahead of the game because, at any time, it could come back to get you."

WHAT DOES A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT NEED TO DO?

Grade 9

*Verify with your high school guidance counselor and the online core-course listing to make sure you are on track.

Grade 10

*Verify with your high school guidance counselor and the online core-course listing to make sure you are on track.

Grade 11

*Register with the eligibility center.

*Make sure you are still on course to meet core-course requirements (verify you have the correct number of core courses and that the core courses are on your high school's 48-H with the eligibility center).

*After your junior year, have your high school guidance counselor send a copy of your transcript. If you have attended any other high schools, make sure a transcript is sent to the eligibility center from each high school.

*When taking the ACT or SAT, request test scores to be sent to the eligibility center (the code is "9999").

*Begin your amateurism questionnaire.

Grade 12

*When taking the ACT or SAT, request test scores to be sent to the eligibility center (the code is "9999).

*Complete amateurism questionnaire and sign the final authorization signature online on or after April 1 if you are expecting to enroll in college in the fall semester. (If you are expecting to enroll for spring semester, sign the final authorization signature on or after Oct. 1 of the year prior to enrollment.)

*Have your high school guidance counselor send a final transcript with proof of graduation to the eligibility center.

Source: NCAA Eligibility Center

ABOUT THE NCAA ELIGIBILITY CENTER

Question: What is the Eligibility Center?

Answer: In a nutshell, high school and international students who want to compete in Division I and II sports must be certified as initially eligible per NCAA academic and amateurism guidelines. The NCAA Eligibility Center is responsible for making these certifications.

Question: Why do you need an eligibility center?

Answer: One of our core purposes is to govern competition in an equitable manner. It's only fair that incoming student-athletes are academically qualified and in good amateur standing. By ensuring all incoming student-athletes meet the academic and amateur requirements, the Eligibility Center helps us shape a level playing field.

Question: What does it take to be "college eligible?"

Answer: To compete in Division I sports, high school students graduating in 2008 and beyond must complete 16 core courses and graduate with their high school class. Division II student-athletes must complete 14 core courses. Core courses are English, math and science classes. All prospective student-athletes must be in good amateur standing as well.

Question: How does a potential student-athlete start the certification process?

Answer: Future Division I and II competitors need to start preparing academically as soon as they enter high school. In addition, they must protect their amateur status. High school junior and senior student-athletes and international students who think they may want to play college sports MUST register online at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net.

INITIAL ELIGIBILITY: The first steps to becoming an NCAA student-athlete

Question: What is initial eligibility and why is it so important?

Answer: Initial eligibility is the stamp of approval that says incoming student-athletes have met NCAA academic and amateurism guidelines. No one can play any sports for a Division I or II school without this certification.

Question: Who does it apply to?

Answer: It most commonly applies to high school graduates, but the NCAA has provisions for assessing junior college, international and home-schooled students.

Question: What does it take to be initially eligible?

Answer: Future NCAA student-athletes must be high school graduates, achieve a minimum grade-point average in specific high school core courses and present a qualifying score on either the ACT or SAT college entrance exam.

Question: Can you be more specific about GPAs and test scores?

Answer: In Division I, the NCAA uses a sliding scale that combines the core-course GPA and entrance exam scores to determine eligibility. Basically, the lower the core-course GPA, the higher the test score must be and vice versa. Division II requires a minimum SAT score of 820 for the verbal and math sections only or a minimum ACT sum score of 68.

Question: Is there a required minimum high school GPA in core courses?

Answer: Yes. The minimum is 2.0 or better on a 4.0 point scale for both Division I and II.

Question: What is a core course and how many do I have to take?

Answer: Core courses are primarily English, math, foreign language and science classes with an emphasis on college preparation. To play in Division I, high school graduates must complete 16 core courses. Right now, future Division II student-athletes must complete 14 core courses, but that will change to 16 in 2013.

Question: If I satisfy all three NCAA requirements and am offered an athletic scholarship, does this guarantee I will be admitted to that college?

Answer: Sorry, but no. Every school has unique admittance requirements. Just because you meet NCAA participation requirements doesn't mean you will be accepted to the school that is offering you a scholarship. You must apply for admission to that particular school.

Today: AJ DeFilippis thought he had done everything to become eligible for college athletics. But the former Cadet quarterback had to sit out three games at Savannah State because a misunderstanding with the NCAA Eligibility Center.

Wednesday: The NCAA has made sure atletes stay on track with the Academic Progress Rate, which has penalireed colleges such as Georgia Southern if players don't make progress toward a degree.